Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it shady to charge for tryouts?

I don’t think so. They need to weed out who is serious from those who are just there for curiosity. Plus, cost of gym and coaches etc

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The coaches will play the best starting 5 in almost every scenario. 80% of the time, their kid is one of the best 5. The other 20%, they are probably tied with another kid so got the edge being a son. I know it’s easier to just blame lack of playing time with coach having favoritism but it’s just not true in most cases. AAU teams need to win in order to be sustainable.

And no I’m not a coach nor do it have a spouse that is. I’m a seasoned AAU mom with a high schooler. Personal 1:1 training outside AAU makes a world of difference. You can’t just rely on AAU workouts. My son quickly moved into starting 5 (and now top 2 players) within 3 months.

On our son's AAU team last spring, the 2 coaches' sons were very good ball handlers but there were 4 other very good ball handlers (guards) on the team. Rest of the team tall/forwards. The 6 guards all started out at about the same skill level (our son and 2 others with prior AAU experience) but the 2 coaches sons played 80-90 percent of game minutes (yes, we tracked times in/out), subbed out for a few minutes of water breaks, then right back in. The other 4 guards were benchers for water breaks (except one guard's dad was friend with a coach so he played more than other 3) and sometimes more if a coach son was injured or too tired. Same scenario in blowouts either way. So by the end of the season, the 2 coaches' sons were most definitely the "best" having played so much! When parents spoke to the head coach about more play time, he always came up with a lukewarm excuse about dribbling or not paying enough attention in practice. We lucked out by finding him another team for our son at end of season.

Anonymous wrote:Is it shady to charge for tryouts?

Anonymous wrote:Go see their first tournament game this weekend. There will be kids on the team you will also see at the tryouts. The more info the better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for sharing. I knew something was up with this guy. Ugh.

DP. I'm confused but now my radar is up, as DS is trying out for this team but I get the sense he would ride the bench for an established team. Choosing a good fit travel team is difficult without connections.

You need to dig for this bit of intel and don't expect the truth up front. We asked, were re-assured, yet still our DC was on the bench a lot. OK for a low-cost team but AAU expenses add up as do your travel bills. No fun spending an entire weekend at out of town tournament to watch DC sit.

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you for sharing. I knew something was up with this guy. Ugh.

DP. I'm confused but now my radar is up, as DS is trying out for this team but I get the sense he would ride the bench for an established team. Choosing a good fit travel team is difficult without connections.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking at 11U, the Nova Cavs 11U coach is coaching the Vienna B team in 5th gr FCYBL. They may have one or two more games, so you could go see him coach and watch his subbing, treatment of the boys etc.

Nova 94 Feet is starting a new team for 5th grade so it might be easier to get in on that team since your son won't have to be substantially better than existing players.

My son's team played this team. Yeah, great advice to go see his coaching "style" before wasting time trying out.

Thank you for sharing. I knew something was up with this guy. Ugh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking at 11U, the Nova Cavs 11U coach is coaching the Vienna B team in 5th gr FCYBL. They may have one or two more games, so you could go see him coach and watch his subbing, treatment of the boys etc.

Nova 94 Feet is starting a new team for 5th grade so it might be easier to get in on that team since your son won't have to be substantially better than existing players.

My son's team played this team. Yeah, great advice to go see his coaching "style" before wasting time trying out.

Anonymous wrote:The coaches will play the best starting 5 in almost every scenario. 80% of the time, their kid is one of the best 5. The other 20%, they are probably tied with another kid so got the edge being a son. I know it’s easier to just blame lack of playing time with coach having favoritism but it’s just not true in most cases. AAU teams need to win in order to be sustainable.

And no I’m not a coach nor do it have a spouse that is. I’m a seasoned AAU mom with a high schooler. Personal 1:1 training outside AAU makes a world of difference. You can’t just rely on AAU workouts. My son quickly moved into starting 5 (and now top 2 players) within 3 months.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The coaches will play the best starting 5 in almost every scenario. 80% of the time, their kid is one of the best 5. The other 20%, they are probably tied with another kid so got the edge being a son. I know it’s easier to just blame lack of playing time with coach having favoritism but it’s just not true in most cases. AAU teams need to win in order to be sustainable.

And no I’m not a coach nor do it have a spouse that is. I’m a seasoned AAU mom with a high schooler. Personal 1:1 training outside AAU makes a world of difference. You can’t just rely on AAU workouts. My son quickly moved into starting 5 (and now top 2 players) within 3 months.

My kid is always a starting 5 but not the best. Or maybe they are and I don't give them credit...lol I just think they reserve some "best players" to sub in. You have to watch carefully. Last off the bench is also telling.

I am curious what 1:1 training you recommend...

DNA Elite in VA (they also have a few mainly older 14U AAU teams) does individual and group training. TripleThreat in MD is also a great organization that does both trainings as well.